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Side-by-Side Comparison

Cloudways vs BlueHost — Detailed Comparison

VS

A hands-on look at Cloudways and BlueHost across the things that actually matter: price, speed, support, and features.

Mohamed Abdelaal By Mohamed Abdelaal, Founder & Lead Hosting Analyst Our pick: Cloudways 100% independent Updated August 2026
Top Pick
4.8
From $11.00 /mo
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4.2
From $2.09 /mo
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Quick Verdict: Cloudways wins

Cloudways wins overall for developers and agencies prioritizing performance and managed infrastructure, with a 4.8 rating, 99.99% uptime, and 60+ global data centers. BlueHost wins for budget-conscious WordPress beginners seeking the absolute cheapest entry point ($2.09/mo) and a 30-day money-back guarantee, though its 4.2 rating and 99.9% uptime place it below Cloudways on reliability.

Mohamed Abdelaal Reviewed by Mohamed Abdelaal Founder & Lead Hosting Analyst

At a Glance

Cloudways and BlueHost serve different hosting philosophies: managed cloud infrastructure versus affordable shared/multi-type hosting.

Winner Visit Cloudways
Visit BlueHost
Overall Rating
4.8
4.2
Starting Price
$11.00/mo
$2.09/mo
Money-Back
N/A
30 days
Uptime
99.99%
99.9%
NVMe SSD
Yes (DigitalOcean Premium)
LiteSpeed
No (Apache + Nginx + Varnish)
Free SSL
Free Migration
Yes (1st migration free)
Control Panel
Cloudways Platform
cPanel
24/7 Support

Provider Profiles

2011 Malta

Cloudways, founded in 2011 and headquartered in Malta, is a managed cloud hosting platform built on DigitalOcean, AWS, and Google Cloud. It targets developers, agencies, and growing businesses that need hands-off server management, vertical scaling, and premium performance without DevOps overhead.

User Friendly 4.8
Support 4.8
Features 4.8
Reliability 4.8
Pricing 4.8
  • 3-Day Free Trial — No Credit Card Required
  • 3 Cloud Providers: DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud
  • Lightning Stack (Nginx + Varnish + Redis + PHP-FPM)
  • Object Cache Pro Included Free (4GB+ servers, $95/mo value)
  • Cloudways Autonomous (auto-scaling)
2003 Jacksonville, Florida, USA

BlueHost, established in 2003 and based in Jacksonville, Florida, is an all-in-one hosting provider with 35 plan types spanning shared, WordPress, cloud, and dedicated servers. It is officially recommended by WordPress.org and focuses on beginners and small businesses seeking affordability and simplicity.

User Friendly 4.6
Support 4.0
Features 4.3
Reliability 4.5
Pricing 3.9
  • Officially Recommended by WordPress.org
  • Free Domain & SSL Included
  • Oracle Cloud — 99.99% Uptime SLA
  • 24/7 Live Chat & Phone Support
  • 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

1 Features

Cloudways emphasizes managed cloud features and developer tools, while BlueHost offers a wider portfolio across hosting types and use cases.

Winner
NVMe SSD
Yes (DigitalOcean Premium)
LiteSpeed
No (Apache + Nginx + Varnish)
Free SSL
Free Domain
Free CDN
Free Migration
Yes (1st migration free)
Control Panel
Cloudways Platform
cPanel

Cloudways Round winner

Cloudways includes Lightning Stack (Nginx, Varnish, Redis), Object Cache Pro free on 4GB+ plans ($95/mo value), free SSL and CDN, vertical scaling with one click, and unlimited websites per server. Email hosting requires a Rackspace add-on at $1/mailbox/month; backups cost $0.033/GB extra.

BlueHost

BlueHost provides 1-click WordPress install, free domain name, free SSL, NVMe SSD, unmetered bandwidth, and WonderSuite AI setup. Phone and chat support are both included. However, fully managed migration costs extra; only the self-service WordPress migration tool is free.

And the features winner is Cloudways Cloudways' Lightning Stack, included Object Cache Pro ($95/mo value), and vertical scaling deliver superior technical features for performance-driven sites.
Visit Cloudways

2 Pricing & Plans

BlueHost's entry price is significantly lower, but Cloudways' starting tier still includes managed infrastructure and premium tools.

Winner
Starting Price
$11.00/mo
$2.09/mo
Number of Plans
Money-Back
N/A
30 days

Cloudways

Cloudways' cheapest plan is $11/mo with 12 total plans using pay-as-you-go billing. There is no money-back guarantee; instead, a free 3-day trial requires no credit card. No domain registration or email hosting included.

BlueHost Round winner

BlueHost's cheapest plan is $2.09/mo with 35 plans across multiple hosting types. A 30-day money-back guarantee is included. Free domain for the first year and free SSL on all plans. However, renewal prices are substantially higher than introductory rates.

And the pricing & plans winner is BlueHost BlueHost's $2.09/mo starting price is dramatically lower than Cloudways' $11/mo, and its 30-day guarantee beats Cloudways' 3-day trial.
Visit BlueHost

3 Performance

Cloudways guarantees 99.99% uptime across 60+ global data centers, while BlueHost offers 99.9% uptime on most plans but 99.99% on Cloud-tier plans only.

Winner
Uptime Guarantee
99.99%
99.9%
Data Centers
60
20
NVMe SSD
Yes (DigitalOcean Premium)
LiteSpeed
No (Apache + Nginx + Varnish)
Uptime score
99.99%
99.9%

Cloudways Round winner

Cloudways delivers 99.99% uptime, 60+ data centers across DigitalOcean, AWS, and Google Cloud, NVMe SSD on DigitalOcean Premium, Lightning Stack with Varnish caching, and one-click vertical scaling. Free first migration by Cloudways engineers ensures clean setup.

BlueHost

BlueHost offers 99.9% uptime on standard plans and 99.99% on Cloud-tier plans only. It operates 20 data centers (fewer than Cloudways) and includes NVMe SSD and unmetered bandwidth. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure migration (as of 2026) promises 4–5x faster response times on newer infrastructure.

And the performance winner is Cloudways Cloudways' 99.99% uptime applies to all plans and is paired with 60+ global data centers—three times more than BlueHost's 20.
Visit Cloudways

4 Customer Support

Both offer 24/7 live chat, but BlueHost adds phone support while Cloudways does not.

Winner
24/7 Support
Phone Support
Control Panel
Cloudways Platform
cPanel
Email Send Limit
N/A — Rackspace required ($1/mailbox)
N/A

Cloudways

Cloudways provides 24/7 live chat support with no phone option. Premium support tier is available as a paid escalation. Chat-based support is the sole channel for all technical inquiries.

BlueHost Round winner

BlueHost offers 24/7 live chat and phone support on all plans. This dual-channel approach suits customers who prefer voice communication for complex issues.

And the customer support winner is BlueHost BlueHost's inclusion of 24/7 phone support gives it an advantage for users who prefer voice-based assistance.
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5 Ease of Use

BlueHost emphasizes beginner simplicity with one-click tools, while Cloudways targets intermediate to advanced users comfortable with cloud platforms.

Winner
Control Panel
Cloudways Platform
cPanel

Cloudways

Cloudways uses its proprietary control panel (not cPanel) designed for cloud infrastructure. Vertical scaling, server management, and deployment are streamlined for developers. However, this is less familiar to WordPress beginners than cPanel.

BlueHost Round winner

BlueHost uses industry-standard cPanel, familiar to most shared-hosting users. It includes 1-click WordPress install and WonderSuite AI setup, making it highly accessible for beginners and small business owners with no technical background.

And the ease of use winner is BlueHost BlueHost's cPanel and one-click WordPress setup are more beginner-friendly than Cloudways' cloud-native dashboard.
Visit BlueHost

6 Privacy & Security

Both provide free SSL on all plans; Cloudways adds managed infrastructure security, while BlueHost relies on user-managed and platform-level protections.

Winner
Free SSL
Free CDN
NVMe SSD
Yes (DigitalOcean Premium)

Cloudways Round winner

Cloudways includes free SSL, automatic backups (with per-GB storage cost), free CDN via Cloudflare integration, and managed cloud infrastructure with no direct server access required. Auto-scaling protects against traffic spikes. Backups cost $0.033/GB; daily snapshots are recommended.

BlueHost

BlueHost includes free SSL and automated migration tools. Security features vary by plan tier; lower-tier shared plans have fewer advanced protections. NVMe SSD speeds may improve security posture but do not replace dedicated security features.

And the privacy & security winner is Cloudways Cloudways' managed infrastructure, automatic backups, and absence of direct server exposure provide stronger baseline security than BlueHost's shared-hosting model.
Visit Cloudways

7 Server Locations

Cloudways offers significantly more global coverage with three cloud providers, while BlueHost provides standard multi-region availability.

Winner
Data Centers
60
20
Headquarters
Malta
Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Cloudways Round winner

Cloudways operates 60+ data centers across DigitalOcean, AWS, and Google Cloud, spanning multiple continents. Users can select their preferred provider and region at deploy time, ensuring compliance and latency optimization.

BlueHost

BlueHost operates 20 data centers across 9 global regions via Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. While this is respectable coverage, it is substantially fewer than Cloudways' 60+ and limited to a single cloud provider.

And the server locations winner is Cloudways Cloudways' 60+ data centers across three cloud providers triple BlueHost's 20 locations and offer greater redundancy and geographic flexibility.
Visit Cloudways

Final Verdict: Cloudways vs BlueHost

And the overall winner is Cloudways
Visit Cloudways

Why choose Cloudways

  • 99.99% uptime and 60+ global data centers—ideal for high-traffic or geo-distributed applications.
  • Managed cloud platform: no server admin, DevOps, or OS patching required.
  • Object Cache Pro ($95/mo value) free on 4GB+ plans; Lightning Stack and Varnish caching included.
  • Vertical scaling with one click; unlimited websites per server.
  • Free first migration by Cloudways engineers.
Visit Cloudways

When to consider BlueHost

  • You are a WordPress beginner or small business owner on a strict budget.
  • You prefer cPanel and familiar shared-hosting workflows over cloud platforms.
  • You need phone support as your first line of assistance.
  • You want a simple, all-in-one provider with free domain and SSL for a quick WordPress launch.
Visit BlueHost

Alternatives to Consider

5.0

30-Day Money-back Guarantee

Visit Review
4.8

45-Day Money Back Guarantee (Shared) / 7-Day (VPS)

Visit Review
4.7

30-Day Money Back Guarantee

Visit Review
4.7

60-Day Money Back Guarantee (Industry-Leading)

Visit Review

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Cloudways cost 5× more than BlueHost's cheapest plan?

Cloudways ($11/mo) is managed cloud infrastructure with auto-scaling, 60+ global data centers, and 99.99% uptime. BlueHost's $2.09/mo is an entry-level, limited-resource plan; renewal prices are significantly higher. Choose Cloudways for hands-off scaling and performance; choose BlueHost for absolute minimum cost on a single site.

Can I use either for WordPress?

Yes. BlueHost is officially recommended by WordPress.org and includes 1-click WordPress install. Cloudways also fully supports WordPress but does not offer one-click install; you deploy via its cloud platform. Cloudways is better for high-traffic WordPress; BlueHost is simpler for beginners.

What about email hosting?

BlueHost does not list email in the provided data. Cloudways explicitly requires the Rackspace add-on at $1/mailbox/month—there is no built-in email. If email is critical, check BlueHost's email offerings or use a dedicated email service like Google Workspace.

Is there a money-back guarantee?

BlueHost offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, making it lower-risk for first-time buyers. Cloudways uses a 3-day free trial (no credit card required) instead. BlueHost's longer guarantee is a clear advantage for budget-conscious shoppers.

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